Snow, sleet, ice hit large swath of U.S.

December 7, 2013News Extra

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Millions hunkered down for icy conditions expected to last through the weekend from Texas to Ohio to Tennessee as the cold snap that covered much of the nation knocked out power and made roads treacherous Saturday.

Face-stinging sleet, thick snow and blustery winds led to slick road conditions, school closures and event cancellations as the wintry blast dropped temperatures to freezing and below overnight Saturday.

About 117,000 customers in the Dallas area were without power Saturday morning and more than 350 departing flights from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport had been cancelled Saturday morning, the airport said. About 3,330 passengers had stayed overnight in the terminals.

In California, four people died of hypothermia in the San Francisco Bay Area while the region was gripped by freezing temperatures.

Freezing rain and sleet are likely again Saturday night in Memphis, Nashville and other areas of Tennessee before the storm starts surging northeast.

The weather forced the cancellation of Sunday’s Dallas Marathon, which was expected to draw 25,000 runners, some of whom had trained for months.

Meanwhile, around 7 inches of snow fell in northeast Arkansas and the Missouri boot heel.

The weather service says 8 to 9 inches of snow fell in parts of southern Indiana.